At noon, Batali heads over to Otto, his pizzeria and enoteca, for a meeting. The restaurant is what he calls his "fundamental office."

"A more auspicious meeting I have not seen all day," Batali says upon arrival.

Representatives of the Museum of Food and Drink would like Batali to be one of six chefs at a quick-service restaurant. Batali, though, seems to want a stake in the restaurant itself: "I'm not trying to be greedy ... I just want to make sure we get the fair shake on both of them."

At 3 P.M., Batali hops on his Vespa and takes off for another of his restaurants, Babbo.

"I go into at least two or three restaurants every day," he says.

Batali tells the head chefs at Babbo that in the spring "we're going to do a little house cleaning." He advises them to think of specials they've run through the years and incorporate them into the menu.